Episome partitioning and symmetric cell divisions: Quantifying the role of random events in the persistence of HPV infections

• Published in: PLoS computational biology 2021-09, Vol.17 (9), p.e1009352-e1009352
• Main Authors: Beneteau, Thomas, Selinger, Christian, Sofonea, Mircea T, Alizon, Samuel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Biodiversity and Ecology; Biology and Life Sciences; Cancer; Cell division; Cell Division - physiology; Clearances; Computational Biology; Computer Science; Computer Simulation; Daughters; Development and progression; Ecology, environment; Ecosystems; Environmental Sciences; Gene expression; Genetics; Health; Host Microbial Interactions; Human papillomavirus; Humans; Immune clearance; Immune response; Immune system; Infections; Learning models (Stochastic processes); Life Sciences; Mathematical models; Medical research; Medicine and Health Sciences; Medicine, Experimental; Microbiology and Parasitology; Modeling and Simulation; Models, Biological; Models, Immunological; Papillomaviridae; Papillomaviridae - immunology; Papillomaviridae - pathogenicity; Papillomaviridae - physiology; Papillomavirus infections; Papillomavirus Infections - immunology; Papillomavirus Infections - pathology; Papillomavirus Infections - virology; Partitioning; Physical Sciences; Plasmids - physiology; Populations and Evolution; Quantitative Methods; Random variables; Randomness; Risk factors; Santé publique et épidémiologie; Sexually transmitted diseases; STD; Stem cells; Stochastic Processes; Stochasticity; Symbiosis; Systematics, Phylogenetics and taxonomy; Vaccines; Viral Load; Virology; Viruses
• ISSN: 1553-7358; 1553-734X; 1553-7358
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009352

Human Papillomaviruses (HPV) are one of the most prevalent sexually transmitted infections (STI) and the most oncogenic viruses known to humans. The vast majority of HPV infections clear in less than 3 years, but the underlying mechanisms, especially the involvement of the immune response, are still poorly known. Building on earlier work stressing the importance of randomness in the type of cell divisions in the clearance of HPV infection, we develop a stochastic mathematical model of HPV dynamics that combines the previous aspect with an explicit description of the intracellular level. We show that the random partitioning of virus episomes upon stem cell division and the occurrence of symmetric divisions dramatically affect viral persistence. These results call for more detailed within-host studies to better understand the relative importance of stochasticity and immunity in HPV infection clearance.